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Mucho Unusual Gives Jockey Juan Hernandez First Grade 1 In Rodeo Drive

Scoring his third victory of the afternoon, jockey Juan Hernandez guided George Krikorian's homebred Mucho Unusual to the front after the opening quarter mile, then lulled the competition to sleep, taking Saturday's Breeders' Cup Win and You're In Rodeo Drive Stakes on turf by 1 1/4 lengths for his first career Grade 1 triumph.

The victory ensured Mucho Unusual a fees-paid spot in the starting gate for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland on Nov. 7.

Trained by Tim Yakteen, Mucho Unusual, a California-bred 4-year-old filly by Mucho Macho Man out of Not Unusual, by Unusual Heat, was winning for the fifth time in 16 career starts. This was her first G1 victory, her biggest previous win coming in the G2 San Clemente Stakes in 2019, when she also finished a close second in the G1 American Oaks.

Mucho Unusual paid $8.80 after covering 1 1/4 miles on firm turf in 2:00.19.

Maxim Rate finished second, with 7-5 favorite Lady Prancealot third, Tonahutu fourth and Pretty Point fifth in the field of six fillies and mares.

Tonahutu broke on top in the short run down the hillside turf course, but Hernandez put Mucho Unusual on the lead crossing the dirt and onto the main turf course. Mucho Unusual hung up fractions of :24.29, :49.52 and 1:14.07 for the first six furlongs, with Tonahutu and Maxim Rate her closest pursuers.

Approaching the stretch, after a mile in 1:37.28, Mucho Unusual still maintained an uncontested lead and she was never seriously threatened down the stretch as Lady Prancealot attempted to make a wide, belated bid from far back.

Mucho Unusual was coming off a half-length defeat when third in the Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar, a race restricted to Cal-breds. Prior to that, Yakteen sent the filly to Keeneland, where she finished eighth in the G1 Jenny Wiley.

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Mucho Unusual Coast To Coast in Rodeo Drive

George Krikorian’s homebred Mucho Unusual went wire-to-wire to win the GI Rodeo Drive S. at Santa Anita Saturday and earn an automatic berth in the GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Turf. Tonahutu took the lead from her inside post in the early strides, but Mucho Unusual strode past her down the stretch for the first time. The bay filly loped along through pedestrian splits, scampered further clear rounding the final bend and resolutely held off Maxim Rate late, while late-closing favorite Lady Prancealot did her best to close into the slow fractions, finishing third.

“My filly ran very sharp and she was really comfortable in the race,” said winning rider Juan Hernandez, who was earning his first Grade I triumph and his second graded race of the weekend following Big Runnuer (Stormy Atlantic)’s tally in Friday’s GII Eddie D S. “They let me go to the lead easily, so I took it, and then the rest of the race the filly did by herself. She’s a really nice filly. When I asked her to run at the stretch, she responded really well.”

Winning trainer Tim Yaketeen added, “This mare is unbelievable, her mother, Not Unusual is a great producer. It was great to get a Grade I win on the page for her. It’s very gratifying. She’s been such a hard-knocking filly. She’s been knocking on the door with Grade Is, so to pull this out is amazing. She’s very easy to train and very straightforward. She makes my job easy.”

Mucho Unusual, winner of last year’s GII San Clemente S. and second in the GI American Oaks, opened 2020 with third-place efforts in the Feb. 22 GII Buena Vista S. and May 25 GI Gamely S. Shipped east, she was eighth in the July 11 GI Jenny Wiley S. at Keeneland and returned home to be third in the Aug. 15 Solana Beach S. going one mile over the Del Mar lawn last time out.

Pedigree Notes:

George Krikorian purchased Not Unusual for $67,000 as a yearling at the 2007 Barretts October sale. The mare, the dam of GIII Transylvania S. winner Big Score (Mr. Big), has a yearling filly by Mr. Big and a weanling colt by Kitten’s Joy. She was bred back to Uncle Mo.

Saturday, Santa Anita
RODEO DRIVE S.-GI, $300,500, Santa Anita, 9-26, 3yo/up, f/m,
1 1/4mT, 2:00.19, fm.
1–MUCHO UNUSUAL, 122, f, 4, by Mucho Macho Man
                1st Dam: Not Unusual, by Unusual Heat
                2nd Dam: Fly First Class, by General Meeting
                3rd Dam: Laura’s Jet, by Wajima
   1ST GRADE I WIN. ($170,000 RNA Ylg ’17 KEESEP). O-George
Krikorian; B-George Krikorian (CA); T-Tim Yakteen; J-Juan J.
Hernandez. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 16-5-3-4, $702,715.
*1/2 to Big Score (Mr. Big), GSW & GISP, $684,342. Werk Nick
   Rating: A. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Maxim Rate, 122, f, 4, by Exchange Rate
                1st Dam: Catch My Eye, by Unbridled’s Song
                2nd Dam: Sharp Eyes, by Storm Cat
                3rd Dam: Gaelic Bird (Fr), by Gay Mecene
($130,000 Wlg ’16 KEENOV; $235,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP). O-Slam
Dunk Racing and Branham, James D.; B-Fred W. Hertrich III &
John D. Fielding (KY); T-Simon Callaghan. $60,000.
3–Lady Prancealot (Ire), 126, f, 4, by Sir Prancealot (Ire)
                1st Dam: Naqrah (Ire), by Haatef
                2nd Dam: Filfilah (GB), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB)
                3rd Dam: El Rabab, by Roberto
(€9,500 Ylg ’17 TIRSEP). O-Medallion Racing, Parkland
Thoroughbreds, Craig & Josie Arntz, Donald Durando, Jules &
Michael Iavarone & Jerry McClanahan; B-Tallyho Stud (Ire);
T-Richard Baltas. $36,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1, 2 1/4. Odds: 3.40, 2.90, 1.40.
Also Ran: Tonahutu (Ire), Pretty Point, Catch the Eye. Scratched: Bodhicitta (GB). Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Speakeasy Score Gives Amanzi Yimpilo Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Berth

Forwardly placed throughout, eastern-based filly Amanzi Yimpilo rallied under Luis Saez to take Saturday's $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., by a head, defeating seven males in the process while earning a ticket to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Nov. 6 at Keeneland. Trained by Wesley Ward, Amanzi Yimpilo took blinkers off in what was her third start and got 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in 1:02.77.

A first-out maiden turf sprint winner June 10 at Gulfstream Park, Amanzi Yimpoli, who fetched $300,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, was most recently third in an ungraded stakes going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Saratoga on Aug. 19.

“She was pretty nervous behind the gate, we had a little trouble, but I knew she was ready,” said Saez, who was aboard for the first time today. “I could feel the power. She just broke very well and sat in a great spot which was the spot I was (hoping) to be in. When we came down the stretch, she fought. She was a fighter and we got there. I had a feeling we would get it.”

Off as 5-2 second choice in a field of nine that included one other filly, Amanzi Yimpilo paid $7.20, $3.80 and $3.00.

“We worked her a half mile on the dirt and we went wide, we weren't really trying to set the track afire,” said Blake Heap, assistant to Ward regarding Amanzi Yimpilo's lone workout at Santa Anita on Sept. 19. “We wanted to do something to get a feel of the situation here and get a little air. It worked out well. It's onto the Breeders' Cup we hope!”

Wyfire, in his first try on turf, ran a huge second under Flavien Prat, finishing a half length in front of Windy City Red. Off at 7-2, Wyfire paid $4.20 and $3.40.

Ridden by Jose Valdivia, Jr., Windy City Red was off at 16-1 and paid $5.40 to show while outfinishing 2-1 favorite Commander Khai by a neck.

Fractions on the race were 21.89, 44.66 and 56.51.

The Speakeasy Stakes is a Breeders' Cup “Win & You're In” Challenge Race qualifier, with the winner earning a fees paid berth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Nov. 6 at Keeneland.

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Firenze Fire Back On Favorite Track, Wins Vosburgh Easily

Second, beaten a nose by Imperial Hint in the 2019 renewal, Mr. Amore Stable's Firenze Fire came from off the pace under jockey Jose Lezcano to win the Grade 2 Vosburgh Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. In so doing, the 5-year-old Florida-bred by Poseidon's Voyage, trained by Kelly Breen, earned an automatic, fees-paid berth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

The 2020 Breeders' Cup Sprint will be run at Keeneland Nov. 7 as part of the two-day world championships program.

Racing over his favorite surface, where he won the G1 Champagne at 2, the G3 Dwyer at 3 and the G2 True North Stakes earlier this year, Firenze Fire covered six furlongs on a fast track in 1:09.74. He paid $7.20 to win the Vosburgh, his 12th victory in 29 lifetime starts.

Funny Guy finished second, with pacesetter Share the Ride third, True Timber fourth and Engage last in the field of five after the scratch of Stan the Man.

Firenze Fire was transferred to Breen earlier this year after his former trainer, Jason Servis, was indicted on drug misbranding charges that are part of a federal probe in racehorse doping.

After a fourth-place finish in the G1 Carter Handicap in his first start for Breen, Firenze Fire won the True North and then finished fourth behind Volatile in the G1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga. He came off an 11th-place finish in the slop at Saratoga in the G1 Forego won by Win Win Win.

Share the Ride set the pace in the Vosburgh, going :22.33 for the opening quarter mile and :45.53 for the half. Firenze Fire tracked the leader in second, taking command in the stretch after a five-furlong fraction of :57.36.

“Today, it was a small field, so I wanted to break good and he was in the bridle the whole way,” said Lezcano. “When I asked him at the quarter pole, he took off.”

“I can say he doesn't like the mud [following a last-place effort in G1 Forego],” said Breen. “You can put a line through his last race and he really performed today. He loves Belmont. We'll have to get him as used to Keeneland as he is to Belmont. I'll bring a couple of buckets from here and put it down the Keeneland stretch and bring our track to Keeneland. He's doing great. He looked great today and we're on to the Breeders' Cup [Sprint].”

Ron Lombardi of Mr. Amore Stable said: “I think he's right there [with the best sprinters in the country]. There's no question about it. Kelly has done a fantastic job with him. It's our second win after everything [trainer change] and he's a solid horse. He always delivers and he recovers well. We'll decide after the Breeders' Cup what we're going to do, there's a lot of options but I love racing. If he does well there, it will be a tough decision [to send him to stud].”

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